Saturday, October 25, 2008

"Silent Shout" cuts deeper than their previous efforts, and its undeniable that their production skills are amazing. They know when to throw in vocals or a distortion of sound to give you chills. "Silent Shout" is the darker counterpart to their previous albums. "Silent Shout", the album's title track, is very minimal and very dark. It definitely sets the tone for the rest of the album, it's electronic elements blaring on the emptiness within the track is beautiful. "Neverland" has an amazing bridge in it, the vocals on it are amazing, again they know when to switch it up at the right moment. "The Captain" is much more slower at the beginning, leads to the epic vocals within the track, the chorus is simply beautiful. "We Share Our Mother's Health" is the most twisted it gets on the album, and I must admit I love it to the fullest. The hook is genius, it leads the track to be even more chaotic. "Na Na Na" starts off very alluring like a siren leading you to your doom, the beats are killer. "Marble House" has to be my favorite off the album, so much emotion is evoked from the rawness of the track. "Like A Pen" is more bouncy, not that bad of a track. "From Off To On" is another favorite, it shows how beautiful despair can be. "Forest Families" has awkward vocals in it, at times I like it, at times I don't. "One Hit" is badass, very industrial and modern. "Still Light" ends the album with a haunting feeling, perfectly ending this emotional journey.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

"The ten tracks on 4 comprise Dungen's most concentrated effort to date, beats surging forth and atmosphere changing as their sound continues to evolve. Every song here runs under five minutes, pushing the group to introduce confident melodies and arresting ambiance in tighter frameworks. Gauging from the results, this challenge has done them well.

Included in this set are live favorite "Mina Damer och Fasaner," excerpts from a wild psychedelic jam session entitled "Samtidigt", and a storming, Northern Soul-influenced instrumental entitled "Fredag". These stand tall with some of the most fully-realized moments of Dungen's career; percolating prog-pop groover "Det Tar Tid" and eloquent opener "Satt At Se", the latter of which is being released on a Ltd Edition 12" on Mexican Summer (and Subliminal Sound in Europe) before 4 comes out this fall."

Monday, October 20, 2008

Where does the title of your new album come from?Xavier: It's the name of aFisher Price toy for kids! The Fisher Price Activity Center is this big plastic panel for kids complete with moving wheels, dials, dingers and all sorts of special sound effects. We figured our studio looks pretty much the same with all our consoles and all the instruments we've amassed over the years. We can just turn up and record ourselves there whenever we like. And we felt the title suited the way we produced the new album, all four of us tucked away behind closed doors.http://www.rfimusique.com

Youth Group are a four piece from Sydney, Australia and The Night is Ours is their fourth album. Best known for their hit, Forever Young, this is mournful, moody pop with sentimental, sappy lyrics that are, well boring.

Sounding like a less charismatic Editors; there is some nice rhythmic guitar in there and some cool synths pops up in one track, but this is very middle of the road stuff. Toby Martin’s voice does remind me of Madchester band, James’ Tim Booth at times, which is a good thing I guess. Track Babies in your Dreams is just awful.

Playhouse continues its legendary and notorious compilation series named Famous When Dead with its sixth edition. Conceived to collect and present the label's 12" highlights, this time the package comes as a 2CD for the price of one, including a bonus CD lovingly mixed by label owner Heiko Sch„fer aka Heiko M/S/O and containing partially alternate tracks by the artists on this compilation. On this sixth edition, the echo chamber, the disco dancefloor and the bass-bin are once again the central, magic spaces in which Playhouse has cultivated its universal, totally modern and always timeless house sound for 15 years now. Within the endless interplay of tradition and modernity, the Playhouse team has again impeccably balanced the mix of this new compilation. On one hand, the parameters of house music have been set in stone since the Neolithic Age: the never too-rapid pace, the use of minimal means for maximum impact, the claps with their humane amiability, the bass lines with their viciousness, etc. On the other hand, how this has been interpreted in 2008 is totally unique: crisp and transparent in the high-end, with a pounding punch and warm body in the low end. All this is best experienced on an excellent sound system like the label's home-base Robert Johnson in Offenbach, or at Panorama Bar in Berlin, where Playhouse has a monthly residency. In sparse, intense rooms like these, the assembled and highly reactive elements flourish to their fullest. Artists include: Losoul (feat. ThisTime), Roman IV, MyMy, Simon Baker, Todd Terje, X-District, Holger Zilske, Goldfish & Der Dulz, Rework, Chlo‚, Prosumer and Common Factor. www.amazon.com

It’s not hard to tell that Barem’s been kicking back and enjoying the summer, soaking up the sunshine vibes and pouring new found inspiration into these three new tracks. The result is a breath-taking departure from his previous releases that demonstrates an unexpected mastery of the classic house sound. The first surprise is that each track stretches out to around the nine-minute mark with Barem adopting a more patient, relaxed approach to his arrangements. The resulting laidback grooves - loopy, organic and sexy in turn - effortlessly seduce the crowd, marking a definite evolution in his sound and adding a welcome new string to his bow. http://www.mbeat.de

I was extremely pleased when I learned that Nashville based songwriter, Katie Herzig had a new album on the horizon a couple of months ago. Her previous releases, 2004’s Watch Them Fall and 2006’s Weightless, are beauties to behold and I anticipated that her latest, Apple Tree, would be of the same vein. And I was right.

From start to finish, Apple Tree firmly stands as something Herzig should be proud of, as it’s quite possibly her best album to date. She’s managed to blend her honey-sweet voice and superb songwriting skills to make an album bountiful with both playful energy and heartfelt, lyrically rich songs.

The album opens with ‘Songbird,’ a swaying, bittersweet ode to missed love in which Herzig sings,“She lays her head upon your shoulder / But all I see is the way that you hold her / You live in your house with a beautiful view / And I live in your apple tree.”

One will find pure, satisfying pop in ‘Hologram,’ which serves as one of Herzig’s loudest songs to date. But she delivers it flawlessly, giving the song an indescribable energy that needs to be listened to multiple times. But on ‘How The West Was Won,’ Herzig still mesmerizes, turning a softly brushed love song into delicate foot-tapper.

Herzig also teams up again with fellow songwriter, Kim Richey, penning together two of the songs that appear on Apple Tree. One of which is ‘I Will Follow,’ an infectious standout that will most certainly find itself on the radio or on television.

‘Forevermore’ closes the album with a jaunty, head-bopping sing-a-long about fairy tales and white knights, but don’t that mislead you. By the chorus you’re hooked and you’ll be humming it all day long.

I suppose that my only gripe is that at just under forty minutes, the album seems too short. But that’s hardly a valid complaint when met with an album chock-full of so many quality songs. That said,Apple Tree is red delicious. http://womenfolk.net

Nick Thorburn is a busy guy. Between Islands and Human Highway, it's unclear how he finds the time to keep up those fashionable haircuts. We recently reported on HH's first live shows. Now Islands, who have a six-song Live Session available at iTunes, are also on the road. The iTunes EP includes Arm's Way tracks ("The Arm," "Pieces Of You," "Creeper," and a "revised" "J'aime Vous Voir Quitter") as well as covers of Spiritualized's "Broken Heart" and Sinead O'Connor's "Red Football." If these two projects weren't enough, you can add Reefer to the mix. It's the duo of Thorburn and LA-based hip-hop producer Daddy Kev. The two met via Subtitle, who we saw in Nick's arms at SXSW '08, and went off to Maui sans Subtitle (Thorburn clearly digs islands) to put together their self-titled debut. It includes six songs, three interludes, and remixes by Dntel and Flying Lotus.

In an attempt to capture the motions of life since 9/11, Nitin Sawhney is famously uncategorisable as a musician.

It serves him well in his efforts to inhabit the London "undersound" – it's light, broadly mellow, worldy pop music driven by high levels of musicianship and the determination not to alienate. If the album lacks the killer melody it deserves, that doesn't mean you won't find safe places within it to abide. Perhaps within the bosoms of Imogen Heap or Paul McCartney. Or perhaps not.

1 This Is The Way2 A Sight To Behold3 The Body Breaks4 Poughkeepsie5 Dogs They Make Up The Dark6 Will Is My Friend7 This Beard Is For Siobhán8 See Saw9 Tit Smoking In The Temple Of Artesan Mimicry10 Rejoicing In The Hands11 Fall12 Todo Los Dolores13 When The Sun Shone On Vetiver14 There Was Sun15 Insect Eyes16 Autumn's Child